Serial Number Plate Resto

[RedRider 120]

When I purchased my first Wheel Horse project a few months back, I was a little bummed to find out that a previous owner attempted to repaint the entire tractor with spray cans.  It was obvious that there was no care taken to prevent overspray or any regard for taping things off, it was a quick down and dirty paint job.  While some of the painted parts I could strip and clean, one problem I ran into was the serial number plate riveted on the dash tower. 

 

 

I completely dissassembled the tractor to have the parts sandblasted back to bare metal, so I removed the serial number tag for safekeeping.  Once removed I began my attempt at restoring it.  I tried soaking it in a few different solvents with no real success.  I combined soaking the plate in solvents and gently scrubbing with fine steel wool, but still little to no success.  Only with some fine grit sandpaper did I start to get through the layer of red paint.  Unfortunatley the coat of paint was uneven and required more sanding in some areas than others, partially removing the underlying black printed part of the tag.

 

 

As I thought about how to restore this I first considered using waterslide decal paper as it was thin and I could easily recreate the graphic for on the serial plate (I am already setup to make waterslide decals as I do it frequently for custom model cars and fire trucks).  My only concern was that the waterslide decal film was very thin and could scratch easily, so I concluded that the durability just wouldn't be there.  Then I got an idea to try making a dry transfer.  I had never tried this before, but I found a kit online that only required an inkjet printer (most kits require a lamination machine which I didn't have).  After ordering a starter kit to try this out, I designed the graphic with some imaging software and then followed the directions provided with the kit.  Suprisingly the dry transfers came out very well, though I will admit I probably went through about a half a dozen before I finally perfected the placement and was satisfied with how it looked.  The transfer paper isn't much thicker than the decal film, but I think that it seems a little more durable and shouldn't come off it I ever spray the tractor with water to clean it.  I did attempt clear coating the plate, but didn't like how it looked, so this final version is just the dry transfer on top of the original serial number plate that I had sanded down to bare metal and polished to a nice shine.

 

 

The grainy look of the tag in the last picture is exacerbated quite a bit by the flash from the camera (it looks much better in person), but I am well pleased and think it looks as good as new.  The only downfall to the dry transfer kit is that seems you can't just make the transfers and let them sit.  I tried using one that had sat for a day and it didn't work out as well as the freshly made ones did; therefore I think offering to make some for other people and shipping them is not really an option.  I do have the original artwork that I came up with and if someone wants to try this I would be more than happy to share my files.  Hopefully this post can help someone else out who is looking to restore their original serial number plate and if there are any questions feel free to contact me.  - Seth

[redrooster 83]

Im not coming up with a good way to restore mine. I tried two throphy shops with no luck.

Edited August 12, 2014 by redrooster

[Racinbob 11,034]

That looks great Seth. I'm thinking Terry could make great decal overlays also.

[AMC RULES 37,125]

 Looks awesome. 

[857 horse 2,581]

THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!    IS GREAT.......................SOMEONE CALL TERRY .. LOLOLOLOL

[Zeek 2,286]

Excellent idea!!  Mine was spray-bombed too 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,497]

Seth. I want to compliment you on your post and your work.

Glenn

[RedRider 120]

Thanks for the compliments.  One other thing I was thinking about was that while these seem more durable, they still may be prone to fading over time.  For my tractor it will probably only be on display outside a couple days a year and stored inside under cover for most of the time, so it probably won't be a big deal.  Also the placement of the tag under the dash may provide some shade and protection from the sun and help to extend its appearance.  The dry transfer kit I got was for inkjet printers, but it you could find one that somehow worked with a laser printer you could probably eliminate the fading issue.